trench

1 of 2

noun

ˈtrench 

1

a

: a long cut in the ground : ditch

especially : one used for military defense often with the excavated dirt thrown up in front

b

trenches plural : a place, position, or level at which an activity is carried on in a manner likened to trench warfare

—often used in the phrase in the trenches

activists working in the trenches

2

: a long, narrow, and usually steep-sided depression in the ocean floor compare trough

3

: trench coat

trench

2 of 2

verb

trenched; trenching; trenches

transitive verb

1

: to make a cut in : carve

2

a

: to protect with or as if with a trench

b

: to cut a trench in : ditch

intransitive verb

1

a

: entrench, encroach

… trenching on other domains which were more vital …

—Sir Winston Churchill

b

: to come close : verge

2

: to dig a trench

Synonyms of trench

Noun

• ditch
• gutter
• ravine

Verb

• touch (on)
• seem
• verge (on)
• resemble

Examples of trench in a Sentence

Noun

dug a trench and filled it with water in an attempt to keep the forest fire off her property

Verb

that response trenches on outright rudeness

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In front of a row of concrete markers tracing the border with Peru, two sandy-yellow Chilean military excavators crawl along a deep trench, digging three metres down before swinging sharply to dump bucketloads of earth into a rising embankment. —John Bartlett, NPR, 23 May 2026

Waxed Barbour jackets and Burberry trenches fit for the blustery British outdoors have never gone out of style. —Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 23 May 2026

Verb

The same platform also enables autonomous excavation tasks such as trenching, bulk excavation, and truck loading, allowing operators to command and monitor one or more machines through a single portable tablet interface. —Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 8 Mar. 2026

Google Fiber crews have been completing some micro trenching work to install high speed fiber lines throughout Lakeway. —Tom Kilgore, Austin American Statesman, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English trenche track cut through a wood, from Anglo-French, act of cutting, ditch, from trencher, trenchier to cut, probably from Vulgar Latin *trinicare to cut in three, from Latin trini three each — more at trine

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing trench

• slit trench
• trench coat
• trench fever
• trench foot
• trench mouth
• trench warfare

Rhymes for trench

• clench
• drench
• quench
• stench
• tench
• wench
• wrench
• entrench
• retrench
• workbench

Kids Definition

trench

noun

ˈtrench

1

a

: a long narrow cut in the ground : ditch

b

: a ditch protected by a bank of earth used to shelter soldiers

2

: a long narrow steep-sided depression in the ocean floor